Vernal City Council approved on Wednesday evening an Interlocal Agreement for Municipal Legal Services. City Manager Quinn Bennion shares that the concept is the sharing of a municipal attorney with other local entities to save on costs and to increase availability of legal counsel. The Interlocal Agreement for Municipal Legal Services states that it is to start on July 1st, 2023 and end on June 30th, 2026 and is to be entered into by Vernal City, Naples City, Uintah Special Service District 1, and Dutch John City.
The Interlocal Agreement further states that, “Contingent on Naples, Dutch John, and USSD 1 participating in this Agreement, Vernal will employ an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Utah and with professional knowledge of municipal and local/special service district laws and procedures…Should a legal conflict arise between any of the parties to this Agreement, each conflicted party will be required to obtain conflict counsel at its own expense… The legal services team shall be operated and located, and the services set forth herein shall be provided at the Vernal City building.” Vernal City is the first to approve the Interlocal Agreement and the other three entities have the item on their upcoming business meeting agendas. This Interlocal Agreement follows the March resignation of Dennis Judd as the Vernal City Attorney.
